Enough for now
by RunChildRunAnd-don't-look-back
Summary: My version of how Caroline and Klaus really met for the first time when she was younger. Also has mentions of the gang when they were younger. In canon. "to Klaus' surprise, she smiled at him before they left. And he was sure that would be the first and last he ever saw of the little girl called Caroline."


**This is my version of how Klaus and Caroline really met. It's in canon with the TVD. And I used some of the things he says to her in episode 3x11. It's just a drabble and I only wrote it because some of the things he says to her seem like they have a deeper meaning. I don't know, maybe i'm crazy. ****There are mentions of the gang when they were younger and yeah, i'm hoping I got the characterization right. It was really hard to write Bonnie. I got the idea from the song 'enough for now' by The Fray**

** Anyway, enjoy and please review. **

They were no more than teenagers, but much less and the world was such a simple place. Okay, maybe not that simple. It was so confusing. Especially hard to tell if a boy liked you or not. And the spots! And the zits! Hormones racing around inside of you. She didn't know if she was angry or hot, or sad or bored. But this was Caroline Forbes, and she could get through anything. Even if currently, she felt like she was going to die on the sweltering hot school bus as it barreled down the highway.

She was sitting besides Bonnie, leaning her arm across the back of the seat as she rested on it and looked at Elena with narrow eyes and a huge grin.

"He's staring at you." She sang quietly. Bonnie was doing the same, and they were both smirking at a blushing Elena who was staring avidly at the book in her hands.

"He is not! Would you both please stop embarrassing me?" She hissed.

"Hmm" Caroline feigned thinking, "how many times has that been now?" She asked Bonnie, who scratched her forehead in mock thought.

"I think that makes it like ten times now." The grin grew wider, "11 if you count when we were lining up." Her and Caroline shared a smile and all three of them snuck a glimpse at the boy at the back of the bus who had returned to his deep conversation with a black haired boy. Tyler Lockwood gave a small grin when he met Caroline's eyes. She sneered back and returned her attention to Elena. Like she was staring at him.

"I'm telling you," Bonnie continued, "He was trying to check what bus you were sitting on so you'd be on the same one."

"Guys! Please!" She whined to her two best friends, "Matt Donovan doesn't like me. Now can we discuss party plans for Saturday?"

"Ah yes! Today is our favorite day of the year isn't it?" Bonnie said sarcastically.

"It most certainly is." Caroline flicked her hair and laughed. "Just you wait Elena," Caroline teased. "Soon you'll be Mrs Donovan and you'll have seventy six children." Her nose wrinkled as she laughed at the thought and they all giggled. It was a known thing that Elena was head over heels for Matt and he was for her, but neither of them had the guts to tell each other. So Caroline and Bonnie knew it would be left to them both to try and convince the pair to finally get together. And the perfect opportunity had presented itself when they found out they were going to the New York Metropolitan museum of art. Bonnie and her had concocted a plan to push the two together.

The first part consisted of Elena and Matt being paired up. All the eighth graders were gathered in the museum lobby, in awe of its size. So far this was the hundredth thing they marveled at. The minute they had entered New York, the bus had been filled with oohs and ahhs while they rolled past all the famous sights that they had only ever seen on television. The only person not to, was Tyler Lockwood who had been to the city several times, and relished in his own nonchalant reaction. The girls were practically fawning over him.

And now, standing in the middle of the lobby, staring at the arches that surrounded them, the awe-struck noises were being hushed by the teachers who were telling them to pair up.

Originally she was going pair up with Bonnie so Elena would have to be with Matt, but Tyler seemed to have taken Matt to her and Bonnie dismay. Elena was now looking in panic, everyone had a partner apart from her and Ginnifer Woodlow, and they had a long rivalry ever since Ginnifer stole Elena's necklace in the fourth grade.

"Quick do something!" She squealed in panic to her two friends.

Caroline didn't have time to panic. She pushed past the students to Matt and Tyler who gave her a curious look when she approached. "Hey Tyler," she composed herself and tried to remember how to behave like a love sick teenager. A finger curled around one of her blonde locks, and she blinked as sweetly as possible, swaying her hips a little as she smiled shyly. "Do you wanna maybe, be my partner?"

He gave a stupid sounding laugh. "I'd love to babe," she held back her disgust at the term of endearment, "but I'm with Matt."

"Oh!" Her eyes brightened, "I have an idea! Matt why don't you go with Elena." At the sound of her name Matt immediately looked around to find her, and saw her watching Caroline curiously, while Bonnie sacrificed herself and went with Ginnifer. "Sure." Matt replied quickly, blushing at how eager he sounded, but nevertheless he made his way over to her quickly, without hesitation.

Now they were all paired, each of them were given a map and told the areas they could go to, and what time they were to be assembled back, and that the teachers would be around. And to Tyler's great dismay each pair was given a clipboard and pencil telling them a list of painting to view, and write a little about each. Caroline, on the other hand, took the clipboard with glee. Any excuse to distract herself from being with Tyler was sufficient.

The pairs scattered excitedly and she went straight to the first painting on the list with Tyler trailing behind her, trying to desperately make conversation.

"You're really pretty, you know that." He attempted to use a seductive tone, but came out as a grumble. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she felt like she was being watched.

"You know," she noted down the details about the artist on the paper, then looked up sweetly at him as he stood beside her, feeling the velvet rope. "You don't have to be nice to me. I'm only here so Matt could be with Elena."

Tyler looked like he had been slapped twice in the face. His mouth was trying to form words as he stuttered.

"Um okay...then..." He muttered. It took her half an hour to finish the list, and he spent all of that in silence. But he must have been staring at her because she continued to feel like she was being watched.

"Okay," she said, after jotting down the last notes about the landscape painting. "What shall we do now?"

Tyler only now realised she had been talking to him. He looked around the large square room at the other people wandering around and avoided her eyes. Caroline felt a twinge of guilt when it seemed like he was hurt, but that was soon washed away when she saw that he wasn't staring at the people but at four boys running up to him.

"Ty! Yo Ty!" The called him. "We're gonna go look at the sculptures." He smiled dopily. "The nude ones. Wanna come." Without thinking he started walking and leading the pack, looking at the map and grumbled loudly when they were half across the room. "I can't find it!"

"You're holding it upside down," Caroline sang sweetly. He looked back at her and chewed his lip. She didn't look at him but ran her eyes back over the worksheet and faced the painting, but knew he was staring because she had that feeling again. She gulped hard. She wanted to tell him not to go but she had no jurisdiction over what he did. Heck, she didn't even like him. Then the sounds of him sigh and start walking with the group snuck up to her ears. Risking a glimpse back, she saw they were definitely gone and she was definitely alone.

"Jackass." She muttered. And someone in the large exhibit let out a little chuckle perfectly timed. She didn't turn around to see who. At first she thought she'd go and fine Elena, but then that would ruin all the effort she put in to get her and Matt to bond. _Bonnie! Of course!_ Rescuing Bonnie from Ginnifer had seemed like a good course of action but when she found them they were laughing in deep conversation with each other, and it seemed best not to disturb. So she had two hours to kill and nothing to do. Well, not nothing. There was a whole museum for her to explore.

She walked around the place, looking at the contemporary sculptures, to contemporary pictures. That was the only section they were allowed in. The one with all the contemporary works. And the teachers were patrolling the area so she wasn't allowed any further. But then again, when did she ever do what she was meant to?

She hid behind the multicolored glass sculpture and waited for Zachary Salvatore, a volunteer helper and part of the towns founding families committee, to cross the large exit and made a dash for it, running down a long corridor and into an open gallery stood flat against the wall of the entryway.

It was large and only four people were there including Caroline, two of whom were a young couple, holding hands and walking towards the exit. She popped her head into the hallway to check if anyone was coming after her. Nope. No one had noticed. Allowing herself to breathe, she looked around. The gallery was very light, sunshine beamed through the dome ceiling and upon the white walls hung paintings of all different kinds.

They were wonderful, nothing like the modern ones. There was a beauty in these paintings; the scenes they depicted were so vivid, so alive. She wandered, slowly, around the room taking in the beauty. Until she got to one particular picture. A ballerina stood amidst a dark landscape striking an elegant pose, one leg elevated. Her breathing slowed considerably, as did time, she was sure of it. There was something so beautiful about this painting. And yet...

"It's of a ballerina in Russia. Painted in a dance studio in Moscow- well not in, but a little outside."

Caroline could see from her peripheral vision that the third person who had been occupying the gallery, and man whom she only glimpsed from behind, had come and stood beside her. She didn't look at him; she could tear her eyes away from the painting. The plaque beneath it said very little, just that it was unnamed, found in the palace of Tsar Nicholas the 2nd just after the Revolution. She wondered if the man beside her had painted it, but it was impossible, he wasn't old enough.

"Are you an Art collector?" She asked.

"No," he smirked. "I'm an artist."

"Then how do you know about the painting?" She turned to him, and for a brief second both of them were equally taken aback. His pale face was defined by his strong, square jaw line. His eyes, oh his eyes were the blue of the ocean, and just as easy to get lost in. And his soft, pink lips were slightly ajar as he looked at her.

Her eyes were so blue, and her curly blonde hair shimmered. Truly she was a thing of beauty. His own eyes traced her face and rested on her cheeks, only to sweep down her neck. No. He scolded himself for even thinking it. This girl was far too young. She must have been about fourteen or thirteen. She hadn't seen anything of life. He had a rule never to kill anyone under 16 unnecessarily, that way it was fair game. They had had 16 years to experience life. And besides, this young girl would be a terrible waste to kill. In a world as hideous as this, all beauty was needed.

"So," she shook herself out of the daze and realised he hadn't replied. "How do you?"

He half smiled and looked down. Then he turned and walked to a bench opposite the painting, sitting down and watching the young girls face. "I knew the artist."

"Ah." She smiled, and for a moment Niklaus Mikaelson panicked at the feeling in his chest. He thought some witch had cursed him suddenly, the feeling was so alien. But he recognised it vaguely. Her smile had induced some sort of happy state inside him. It was so beautiful. She looked back at the painting and he watched her. Her face was filled with emotions he couldn't recognise, and he felt that nagging sensation to ask her what she was thinking. But she spared him the labor.

"What's the paintings story?" She tilted her head at it.

"Well it's a long one." He stared at it and recollected when he painted it. "I-" he stopped when he remembered that he couldn't tell her that he was the one who painted it. "The man who painted it was in Russia during Tsar Nicholas' reign, he was bewitched with the palaces and the Tsar allowed him to paint them." Klaus couldn't help but smile, 'allowed' was a loosely used term. He had compelled himself permission. "Anyway I- I heard that he was outside one day, in the gardens, painting the outside of the palace sunrise, because the light hit it a such a beautiful angle. When a woman crossed the lawn towards me- him."

Caroline had noticed the blunders and put down to the fact that he wasn't a great story teller. "Her name was Mathilde Kschessinska." He looked at Caroline to see any recognition of the name, when she gave none, only continued to eye the painting, he began to clarify. "She was-"

"The mistress of Tsar Nicholas the 2nd. I know. She was a famous Ballerina."

Klaus said nothing, only eyed her with approval. "Yes well, she crossed the lawn, looked at the painting and asked if he could paint her."

"And the artist painted her dancing." Caroline guessed the rest.

Klaus chuckled. "I- he was going to, but her dancing wasn't very... Well let's just say that he'd seen better. But there was this moment when she had fallen on her own feet, that she struck this pose that made her seem so graceful, and so bird like that it became engraved in his mind."

She was thoughtfully quiet, "and then of course she fell flat on her face."

"Yes, that she did."

They both let out a small chuckle.

Caroline sighed quietly, looking at the painting still. "I think I understand now."

He looked at her, "Understand what sweetheart?"

"The concept of the painting." She cocked her head to the side. "It's about humanity. It captures the irony that when a human is at the most frailest, basically when she was about to fall, they seem their strongest. Like her position, delicate yet strong. And how something so beautiful can come from the most ungraceful act. "

Klaus' eyes widened and he gave her the most curious look as she continued.

"Kind of like," she shrugged and laughed a little, "babies? But it's more like, the art of-"

"War." They both said together, and she looked to see his eyes transfixed on her.

"Yes. Exactly." He replied, unaware that he was speaking. He was still in a state of shock that this child was able to decipher exactly what had been going through his mind over a hundred years ago when he painted this. His mind, the mind of a thousand year old vampire, and the mind he always believed to too advance for human kind. Emotions he hadn't felt for years, bubbled to the surface, and all for this baby- in his opinion- blonde human.

"I think I'm going to move here when I'm older." Caroline pondered aloud, "Just so I can see this painting every day." Niklaus was grinning from ear to ear. And Caroline held her breath and the sight of his dimples.

"While that's a nice plan Sweetheart, the paintings being moved back home. To the Hermitage Museum in Russia. It was on loan here." He clarified.

"Well I'll just have to make the most of it now." His ego was beaming at her affection for the painting.

"You're very smart for your age." Niklaus watched her smile and again felt his heart leap, and then she walked to the bench and sat beside him.

"I know." She grinned. "I plan to be Valedictorian. And get the highest grades."

"Well it certainly won't be hard with the American schooling system." He muttered, and she gave him a glare and he smirked at her in reply.

"And let me guess," he continued, scanning her. "You're also an avid horse rider, head of the prom committee with rich parents and you happen to be an excellent ballerina- which must be why you were mesmerised by the painting."

"Wow," Caroline breathed, he smiled to himself when he thought he got it completely, but then she spoke, "I never met anyone who could be so wrong, so confidently." The grin that came over her soon had him back in his place. "I'm not a horse rider; in fact I've never seen one. I'm not head of prom committee either and my parents are definitely not rich." She scoffed at that, "and I'm not a ballerina." she looked down at her shoes, sadness in her eyes now as she was quiet. Klaus felt his foot had been shoved into his mouth. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it, unsure of what to say.

"How many paintings have you sold?" She asked, diverting the topic.

"Only three." He replied sheepishly.

"They must have been sold for a lot of money."

"Why's that then?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Because it's so blindingly obvious you're rich." She eyed his designer clothes.

He snorted a laugh, he couldn't help it. Here he was, thousand year old original vampire in a conversation with a teenage girl, and she was the most perceptive of the two. She followed his laugh with her own giggle.

"Quite the conversationalist, aren't you?" He laughed.

"I try." She smiled, and took off her satchel. He took this as a sign she was comfortable in his presence. He had half a mind to compel her to leave, because clearly her own instincts weren't working. But he didn't, he enjoyed her company.

She sighed once more while she gazed at the painting. "I always wanted to be a ballerina you know." Her eyes were glazed over.

"Oh? What stopped you then?" Klaus clasped his hands together. "Something tells me you're the type of person who gets what they want."

She laughed a little and then frowned. He instantly knew why, money of course. It was such a trivial thing to him, but human lives depended on it. Their whole existences revolved around pieces of paper. It was mad.

"You could still be." He replied quietly.

"No I couldn't." But even as she said that, an idea was formulating in her mind. She bit her lip and stood up suddenly.

"Do you have any music?" She asked.

"No." He frowned in wonder at what she was doing but the realised. "But, I doubt music is a necessity when dancing."

"It's impossible to dance without music." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh really?" He stood up, she came up to his shoulders, and held out a hand, "may I have this dance, Miss..."

"Caroline." She replied, with a smile on her face she curtseyed a little before taking his hand. "You may..."

"Nik." He answered, smiling back and bowing low.

He held her left hand and placed the other on her shoulder, she placed her free one on his arm.

"Place your feet on mine." He commanded.

"What? I'll be too heavy" Her eyes widened.

"I assure you, it won't hurt sweetheart." The gallery was filled with the sound of her enjoyment as he twirled her around as if they were in a ballroom. Neither of them had any idea they would do this again four years later, in an actual ballroom.

"You are an excellent dancer, Caroline." He mused.

"Well thank you. I've had training from the Royal school of Ballet." She joked. It was his turn to laugh. He would give anything to be like this young girl. So care free, so full of life. She was breath taking, her laugh alone lit up the room. And her eyes...they would haunt him, he was sure of it. As she was. She knew he was much older than her, as young as he looked, if anyone walked in on them the whole scene would seem wrong. And she didn't want to get him in trouble. At the next opportunity she stepped off his feet and smiled.

"Thank you." Her blue eyes flitted up to meet his. "That was so fun."

"Consider it a gift." He replied, trying his best to smile. But he realised now that their time together had come to an end.

"Very appropriate, since it's- my birthday." She said the last part apprehensively; unsure of whether or not it was appropriate to tell him. But she had broken so many of her mother's rules about strangers already. What was another?

"It's your birthday?" His smile widened. "I love birthdays." He delved into his bag and she watched him fish around. From in there he pulled out a rough sketch he had done of a flower and handed it to her.

"I couldn't take it." But she looked at it with wanting.

"It's not much. Really. I've got millions more."

She chewed her lip, "are you sure? I mean-"

"For me, please?" but he didn't believe the girl would do anything for him. After all, she barely knew him, so he changed tactic. "Think of it as something to remember the painting by."

She let go of her lip and received the sketch. Her face glowed and she looked from the painting to him. "It's a genuine beauty. When did you draw it?"

"A few days ago. It was a something to remind of a place I used to love."

"What place?" He paused and didn't answer, she flushed, "I'm sorry. My mom sometimes says I'm really nosy."

"No, it's not that. Its...nothing," nobody had ever cared to ask that much about him for no reason other than to know. "New Orleans."

"Where else have you been?" She asked with a curious tone.

"Many places. All over the world."

She exhaled. "It must be wonderful. To be able to just get up and explore the world, without a second thought." The look in her eyes saddened him to no end. This human girl was condemned to conform when in truth; it couldn't have suited a person less. She could have been so much more had she been a Vampire. But she wouldn't be. And she wasn't his problem.

She stared up into his eyes. Those eyes that had seen so much, they had traveled so far and remembered all the places. He was amazing, so unlike anybody in Mystic Falls. He was everything she wanted for herself. But she couldn't have him, and he couldn't keep her. And internally they both sighed.

They only then realised they had been staring at each other for a while when a gangly teenage boy, whom he recognised to be the one that abandoned this young girl in the first place, sprinted past the enterence and doubled back inside when he saw the her.

"Caroline!" He yelled, and she snapped away from Klaus' eyes to view the boy with disdain.

But before she could say anything, he tugged her hand and ran towards the entryway with her. But as a brunette headed man walked past the entryway, the boy maneuvered to the side and pulled both him and Caroline flat against the wall. Before she could ask, the boy put a finger to her lips. Niklaus watched the boy's action with an emotion that couldn't have been jealously, because he didn't feel jealous and he certainly wouldn't be of such a young boy with nothing.

"Someone told Mrs Beatherman that we'd snuck off and she's going to round us up and give up detention with Mr Salvatore!"

Klaus tensed at the name Salvatore, but neither child noticed. The only other time he heard that name was in the 1920's. Obviously he heard it when he had been checking up on the whereabouts of his old Ripper pal, but never casually mentioned in conversations.

"Go away Tyler I'm not going anywhere with you!" She hissed as she yanked her arm away.

"I'm trying to help you Caroline!" He responded.

"I don't need it!" She hissed back.

"I'm not gonna leave you here. That would be mean!" He whispered urgently back.

"Well then," she looked at him with sad eyes, "why did you leave me? Why did you leave in the first place?" Tyler looked taken aback, he hadn't realised how hurt she had been. And in truth she hadn't realised it up until now.

"I didn't know it would hurt you." He shrugged as if her response was completely unjustified. "Besides why do you care?"

She opened her mouth but closed it. Then narrowed her eyes. "You're right. I shouldn't." She sneered. Tyler wouldn't have been her first choice of company. But he wasn't that bad. And he was better than being alone on her birthday. Klaus understood this, and could only sympathise with her.

"Coming?" He asked.

"No." She knew the only reason he came back for her was because they would both be in trouble if they weren't together.

"Please?"

"No." She pouted and Niklaus smiled at her stubbornness.

The young boy sighed and got down on his knees. Caroline's eyes widened and she only now remembered that they weren't alone; she looked briefly at Klaus and saw his amused expression, then back at Tyler who had clasped both his hands together. "I am very sorry for leaving you Caroline, and I won't do it again. You can hate me forever. But can we please go?"

"Well let me start now then." She walked over to the bench and gave Klaus a knowing smirk as she sat beside him and crossed her arms. Tyler's mouth dropped. "Come on Care? You can start hating me later. But let's go now."

"Well consider this an experiment, to see how hating you will be like."

"Caroline Forbes!" The young brunette headed man who had run past earlier came in.

"Oh! Mr Salvatore." She got to her feet. He had walked straight past Tyler, who was standing quietly, unsure of whether to stay or go. But Caroline usher him out with her eyes as Mr. Salvatore walked towards her. He nodded and ran out of the room.

Klaus looked at the Salvatore man, it wasn't Stefan.

"Caroline come on," he pointed towards the exit. "If Beatherman finds you-"

"You don't have to tell me twice." She began hurriedly out of the exit with him in toe, and to Klaus surprise, she smiled at him before they left. And he was sure that would be the first and last he ever saw of the little girl called Caroline.

**A/N: I put up a sort of sequel called 'Little Bird', it explains Klaus' thoughts and feelings about this event when he meets the Vampire Caroline in Mystic Falls. The Zachary Salvatore is from the very first episode of the Vampire diaries. The one that Damon killed. He's their nephew, and seriously, he's like the hidden hero. If it wasn't for him letting Stefan stay then there would be no TVD. Well that's my opinion. The painting in the Hermitage is mentioned in TVD episode 'Dangerous Liaisons.' I know he says it's a landscape, but I added the ballerina in there for the purpose of the story. And I apologise If the met museum layout isn't precise or accurate, I've never been there. I know Klaus usually says 'sweetheart' and 'love' a lot, but I thought that because Caroline is a child he would have enough sense not to use the terms too much but he does slip up a little. And this is sort of the start of Caroline and Tyler's love hate relationship. I got the 'why did you leave me' part from episode 2x22 when she says that to Tyler. Also I basically got a lot of the dialog she says to Klaus from previous episodes, like 'consider this an experiment', is one of the first things Klaus says to her when they first meet in episode 3x5. I hope you enjoyed the story, and I'm hoping it wasn't completely awful. The sequel to this is up, be sure to check out my other stories.**


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